It is well known to provide hand trolleys for the lifting of heavy objects from a location, typically at ground or floor level, and the transportation of those objects to a different location. Such hand trolleys typically have a pair of support wheels located toward one end of an elongate chassis with a hand grip at the opposite end of the chassis and a load support platform extending outwardly from the chassis adjacent but on the opposite side to the wheels. In use, the operator pushes the load support platform under the load to be lifted until an upright portion of the load rests against the chassis, and then tilts the chassis rearwardly about the wheels to lift the load from the ground, enabling the load to be wheeled to a new location.
It is a disadvantage of conventional hand trolleys of this type, that although they are very suited to moving a heavy load from one location at ground or floor level to another location at the same level, they do not assist the operator in picking up or setting down a load to an elevated position. Such operations typically include the picking up of a load from ground level and elevating the load to a raised position where it can be loaded into a motor vehicle.
Attempts have been made to overcome this problem by providing hand trolleys with lifting tynes that can be raised using a hand winching mechanism when the trolley is in the upright position, but such constructions have suffered from the disadvantage that the winching mechanisms are typically placed in a mid-height position on the underside or rearside of the trolley chassis with the winch cranking axis perpendicular to the axle supporting the wheels. This not only restricts the height to which the lifting tynes can be raised but which also results in an ergonomically unsound position for an operator cranking the winch. This leads to the danger of injury to the operator and furthermore a trolley of this design is inherently unstable while the load is being raised making it prone to toppling and either injuring the operator or damaging the load.